


in this shirt

by candycoatedchaos



Category: Julius Caesar - Shakespeare, Rome (TV 2005), 七つの大罪 - 鈴木央 | Nanatsu no Taizai | The Seven Deadly Sins - Suzuki Nakaba (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Eternal Life, M/M, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:28:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29364777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candycoatedchaos/pseuds/candycoatedchaos
Summary: he has met brutus 107 times.
Relationships: Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger/Gaius Cassius Longinus
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	in this shirt

**Author's Note:**

> yet another crossover fic, lol, surprise! inspired by the story of meliodas and elizabeth from nanatsu no taizai.

"And if we meet again, we will smile. If not, this parting was well made."

Cassius still remembers their final moments. 

Brutus' eyes meeting his with a smile. And that was it.

There was a flash of unbearable pain that rippled through his chest. The world went dark.

* * *

He wasn't sure how much time had passed. It could've been a mere few days, or several months. But he woke up. The sunlight peering through his closed eyes is what brought him to. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes to adjust to the brightness. He was rather alarmed to find that his battered body was now healed, without a single scratch.

Then he remembered. _Brutus._

Quickly, he turned around, scanning for the younger boy. The same could not be said for him. While Cassius was alive and breathing, Brutus still laid dead by his side. The dark cloud that had been growing closer to the sun finally covered it, and thunder rolled through the air. Cassius pulled Brutus' cold body to him, cradling his head against his chest. He kissed the crown of his head as the rain came pouring down.

Then he screamed.

* * *

While he was unconscious, the war had come to an end. For weeks, Cassius wandered aimlessly. He had no destination in mind, he just kept walking. He would occasionally stumble upon small towns, opting to stay at a local inn for the night before continuing on his journey.

Weeks turned into years. He came to discover that he had stopped aging altogether. He didn't understand what had happened, nor how he was alive, but he didn't dwell on it. He found that not much mattered to him anymore.

Then, one day, they met again. As he was walking through a seemingly endless valley, the cloak he had been wearing for warmth was blown off of his shoulders. He turned around to catch it, but someone had already beaten him to it. And there he was.

It was Brutus, standing upon a rock with his cloak in his hands. His hair was longer, but Cassius knew it was him. Overwhelmed with joy, he forgot all about the piece of fabric. He climbed the rock and all but tackled the smaller boy in a hug. Unfortunately, the feeling wasn't reciprocated. He was greeted in return with a sharp punch to the jaw. 

Eventually, this Brutus opened up to him, and showed him he cared. He had been born as a member of a nearby village. He didn't seem to remember anything about what had happened in the past, but he fell in love with Cassius anyway. Cassius grew to be okay with it. As time passed, he became certain; this was his Brutus. The same one from before. His name, his face, even his voice was identical.

He isn't sure why, as the decision seems near idiotic now, but soon, he told Brutus everything. That was the trigger. A little at a time, memories of Caesar, his life in Rome, his mother, all came back to him. One night, Cassius sat aside a fire, watching the embers flicker and listening to the crackling of the burning wood, when he heard Brutus' voice from behind him.

"I remember," He said. "I remember everything."

Cassius rose, happiness welling within his chest as he grabbed him by the shoulders. "That's amazing!"

Brutus did not share the same feeling, however. Instead, the look on his face was grim. He stared at the ground for a few moments before finally lifting his head to meet his gaze. "Listen to me. We have been cursed."

"Cursed? What do you mean?"

"I will tell you. But first, I need you to promise me something."

"Of course, anything."

"I need you to promise me that whatever happens, even if I die again, you will break this curse."

"Brutus, I cannot--"

"Swear it!"

Cassius inhaled deeply. He was silent for a moment. "I promise... Even if you should die, I will keep the promise I make to you now."

Brutus smiled. "Thank you. I shall tell you everything. The two of us have been cursed for our crimes. You have been cursed with eternal life. You will never age again, and even if you die, you will only be resurrected. As for me, I will continue to live short lives in a cycle of eternal reincarnation. Whenever I am reborn, I shall have no memory of my past lives. And if, by chance, I ever were to get all of my memories back, then no matter the circumstance, no matter who is there to protect me, I will die before your eyes after three days."

"Brutus..."  
  


"There's more. For every time I am reborn, you and I will inevitably meet, and I will fall in love with you each time."

And sure enough, three days later, Brutus was killed before him.

* * *

Once, Brutus got all of his memories back at a young age. 

He had been merely ten years old, and Cassius had been watching him run through a valley, climbing trees and chasing rabbits. He was laying in the sun, when young Brutus gifted him a small doll he had crafted out of sticks and twine. When he turned around to run off again, he suddenly came to a halt.

"Brutus? Are you alright?"

"I see you haven't lifted the curse yet." 

Three days later, Brutus died in a town fire.

* * *

Then there was another Brutus. He was born into an elite family in Florence, and Cassius quickly fell in love with him all over again.

This time, however, Brutus never got his memories back, and lived a long life.

"You are an utter enigma to me." He had told him in his final moments. "It is as if time has stopped for you, and you alone."

Cassius took hold of his frail hand.

"Caius Cassius, when I die, I want you to forget all about me. Find someone who makes you happy."

This Brutus peacefully took his final breath, and expired in front of Cassius once more.

* * *

The next Brutus was a member of Rome's military. He had been captured and sentenced to death when the two of them met again. When Cassius offered himself along with him, they halfheartedly let him go. This Brutus was tough, headstrong. He was different from all of his previous reincarnations.

His demise came when Rome was falling. Cassius had been running through the burning streets of his home, and he found Brutus standing with the sword of another soldier embedded in his stomach. When it was removed, he stood for a few moments, unsteady on his feet, before his knees buckled.

"Cassius..."

Cassius tore off a piece of his toga, pressing it to the wound. He choked on an agonized wail.

"Don't cry.... We will....meet again." He closed his eyes and did not open them again.

In the aftermath, he scavenged through the ruins of what had once been Rome, dazed. The sound of a baby crying alarmed him. He didn't think anyone was still alive, and he was almost sure that those who were had fled. He followed the noise, and came across a woman curled on the ground, holding the infant tightly. She turned to look at him with eyes that were glazed over. 

  
  
"Please," she whispered feebly, her shaking arms holding the wrapped bundle towards him. "Take my child. I do not have much time....left..."

Cassius took the child, and the woman collapsed, dead. He looked down at the infant, and tears welled in his eyes once more.

"Brutus..."  
  


* * *

Now, Cassius sits at Brutus' bedside, holding the smaller boy against his side and listening to his soft breathing and feeling the rise and fall of his chest, both of which serve as a reminder to him that Brutus is alive. 

It has been three thousand years. He has met Brutus 107 times. And to this day, it hasn't gotten any easier.


End file.
